Andy Cohen was not expecting Porsha Williams to divorce her husband, Simon Guobadia.
“Porsha announced last week that she is leaving Simon, and I gotta tell you something, I was saying to the other producers of [The Real Housewives of] Atlanta, when the news started breaking about Simon and some of his immigration issues … I was so surprised,” Cohen, 55, explained on his Sirius XM Andy Cohen Live radio show on Monday, February 26.
Cohen went on to say that the Real Housewives of Atlanta star’s divorce was not a factor in her decision to return to the Bravo show. (Williams, 42, announced earlier this month that she is returning to the series after a two-year hiatus.)
“None of us knew any of this was on the horizon, and this was really meant to be Porsha’s happily-ever-after kind of victory lap season,” he shared. “So it’s just, I was so surprised and taken aback, and listen, we wanted Porsha on the show for Porsha.”
The Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen host noted that the other RHOA cast members were happy to have Williams back no matter what.
“We would take Porsha married, single, picking up the pieces of her life, on high, on low, however she wants, you know, however, she’s gonna be,” Cohen gushed. “We didn’t know [about the split], and this is really a big turn from the story that I think all of us thought we would be telling, so sending love to Porsha.”
On Friday, February 23, People reported that Williams had filed for divorce from Guobadia, 59, after 15 months of marriage, with a source telling the publication that the split had nothing to do with rumors surrounding Guobadia’s citizenship status. (Days prior, the Atlanta Black Star published a report claiming that Guobadia, who was born in Nigeria, had repeatedly been denied residency in the United States.)
Williams broke her silence three days after her divorce filing made headlines.
“Thank you for your prayers & support. -PW,” she wrote via Instagram on Sunday, February 25.
Williams and Guobadia tied the knot in November 2022 after a one-year engagement.
“Mr. & Mrs. Guobadia 🇳🇬🙏🏾❤️,” Williams captioned Instagram photos from the wedding. “Thank you everyone for all of your prayers and well wishes ! We love you for riding with us in this journey called life ! The best is yet to come !!”
Williams was previously married to Kordell Stewart from 2011 to 2013 and dated Dennis McKinley on and off from 2017 to 2020. The twosome welcomed daughter Pilar in March 2019. Guobadia, for his part, has five children from a previous marriage.
Simon was previously married to Williams’ former RHOA costar Falynn Guobadia. After Williams and Simon went public with their romance, Williams denied speculation that her relationship with Simon started before he split from Falynn, 34.
